Pishan County ( zh, s=皮山县) as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Guma County ( ug, گۇما ناھىيىسى; zh, s=固玛县), is a county within the

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

and is under the administration of the

Hotan Prefecture Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...

. It contains an area of . According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county borders Maralbexi County and

Makit County Makit County, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It contains an area of . The Yarkand River passes through the county. The county is bordered to the ...

to the north,

Karakax County Karakax County (), alternatively Moyu County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Qaraqash County (; ), alternately Qaraqash, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is located in the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, it is under ...

Hotan County Hotan County (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. Almost all the residents of ...

and Kunyu to the east and

Kargilik County Kargilik County ( transliterated from ; ); from Mandarin Chinese Yecheng County (), is a county in southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Kashgar Prefecture. It contains an area of 28,600 km ...

to the west. The county includes lands near the

Karakoram Pass The Karakoram Pass () is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. 'Karakoram' literally means 'Black Gravel ...

which are part of the

Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...

area that is disputed between China and India.

History

In 1902, Pishan County was created from Guma, Sanju and other areas originally part of Kargilik. In March 1950, the Pishan County People's Government was established. In May 2010,

Shahidulla Shahidulla, also spelt Xaidulla from Mandarin Chinese, (altitude ca. 3,646 m or 11,962 ft), was a nomad camping ground and historical caravan halting place in the Karakash River valley, close to Khotan, in the southwestern part of Xinjiang A ...

(Xaidula/Saitula) was made a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

. On the night of December 28, 2011,

Koxtag Koxtag, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Kuoshitage, Qoshtagh, Kuoshi Tage, K'o-shih-t'a-ko; / , formerly / ) is a town in Pishan/Guma County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. History In 1958, Yuejin Commune (' Leap F ...

(Kuoshi Tage) in Pishan was the site of the

2011 Pishan hostage crisis The Pishan hostage crisis occurred on the night of December 28, 2011, in Koxtag (Kuoshi Tage), Pishan/Guma County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. A group of 15 Uyghur youths kidnapped two goat shepherds for directi ...

. In 2012/3,

Muji (), or is a Japanese retail company which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. Muji's design philosophy is minimalist, and it places an emphasis on recycling, reducing production and packaging waste, and a no-logo or "no-bran ...

was changed from a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

into a town. On July 3, 2015, the

2015 Pishan earthquake A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck in Pishan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China southeast of Yilkiqi ( / ), on July 3 at a depth of . The earthquake killed at least 3 people and wounded 71. Earthquake The earthquake occurred on a ...

occurred, killing three and wounding 71. On July 24, 2015, Koxtag was changed from a township to a town. On January 9, 2016, Sanju was changed from a township to a town.

Geography

The northern part of Pishan/Guma County is made up of sand dunes in the

Taklamakan Desert The Taklimakan or Taklamakan Desert (; zh, s=塔克拉玛干沙漠, p=Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Такәламаган Шамә; ug, تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى, Täklimakan qumluqi; also spelled Taklimakan and T ...

. The main part of the population of the county is grouped around oasis areas at the base of the

Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...

. The southern part of the county is mountainous including the Qizil Koran Range. A prominent mountain pass in the area is

Sanju Pass The Sanju, or Sanju-la (), with an elevation of , is a historical mountain pass in the Kun Lun Mountains in Pishan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. During ancient times, it was the last on a series of difficult passes on the most com ...

. A prominent lake in the area is Cuolule Co (Cuolule Cuo, Tsorūl Tso; ).

Climate

Administrative divisions

The county is made up of one

subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, In ...

, six

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

, ten

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

and two other areas: Subdistrict: * Pishan County Subdistrict () Towns: * Guma ( / ) * Duwa ( / ) *

(Mu-chi; / , formerly / ) *

, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Kuoshitage, Qoshtagh, Kuoshi Tage, K'o-shih-t'a-ko; / , formerly / ) *

Sanju ''Sanju'' is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language biographical film directed and edited by Rajkumar Hirani, written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi and produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banners Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vinod Chopra Film ...

(Sangzhu; / , formerly / ) *

(Saitula, Sheydulla; / ) Townships: * Kilian, Xinjiang (Keliyang; / ) * Kokterak (Keketiereke, Köktërek; / ) * Choda (Qiaoda; / ) * Mokoyla (Mukuila, Mo-kuei-la; / ) *

Zangguy Zangguy () is a township in Guma County in the Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang, in northwestern China. According to the 2006 Chinese census, the township has a population of 13,027 people and covers 855 square kilometres. History In 1958, Xingfu ...

(Canggui; / ) * Piyalma (Piyalema; / ) * Pixna, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Pixina, Pishna; / ) * Bashlengger (Bashilangan; / ) * Nawabat Tajik Township (Nao'abati; / ) * Kangkir

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

Township (Kangke'er, Kengqir; / ) Others: * Pishan Sanxia Industrial Park () * Pishan Regiment Farm ()

Economy

The county produces rice, wheat, cotton, apricots, peaches, grapes, silkworms and furs. Coal, gypsum and mica are mined in the county. Industries include tractor repair, carpet making and food processing. Local specialities include ''sangpi'' paper and walnuts. , there was about 54,600 acres (360,891 mu) of cultivated land in Guma.

Demographics

In the late 2010s,

ethnic minorities The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

made up 98.4% of the population of the county, mainly

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia, Cent ...

. In 2011,

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

accounted for less than 2% of the population of Pishan. As of 2015, 290,016 of the 296,075 residents of the county were Uyghur, 3,788 were

and 2,271 were from other ethnic groups. As of 1999, 97.85% of the population of Guma (Pishan) County was Uyghur and 1.32% of the population was Han Chinese.

Transportation

* China National Highway 219 *

China National Highway 315 Constructed in 1954, the Qinghai-Xinjiang Highway, also known as the China National Highway 315 (G315) runs west from Xining, Qinghai towards Kashgar, Xinjiang. It is in length. In 1994 the departments of communication and transportation in Qingh ...

Notable persons

Ablajan Awut Ayup Ablajan Awut Ayup ( ug, ئابلاجان ئاۋۇت ئايۇپ; born 11 November 1984) is a singer, songwriter and dancer who wrote over 400 songs and was known for promoting Uyghur culture and identity as well as building a cultural bridge with ...

, pop singer * Ghojimuhemmed Muhemmed, modern poet * Osmanjan Muhemmed Pas’an, modern poet

Historical maps

File:Map India and Pakistan 1-250,000 Tile NI 44-1 Tsorul Tso.jpg, Map including Cuolule Co (labeled as Tsorūl Tso) in southern Pishan County ( AMS, 1955) File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nj-44-3rd-ed.jpg, Map including Pishan (labeled as P’I-SHAN (GUMA BAZAR)) and the northern part of the county (

USATC The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qu ...

, 1971) File:NJ-44-13 Kang-Hsi-Wa China.jpg, Map including part of southern Guma (Pishan) County (

DMA DMA may refer to: Arts * DMA (magazine), ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine * Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US * Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark * BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the U ...

, 1973) File:Txu-oclc-6654394-ni-44-3rd-ed.jpg, Map including the southern part of the county and areas disputed between China and India ( AMS, 1950) File:Operational Navigation Chart G-7, 6th edition.jpg, Map including Pishan (labeled as PISHAN (P’I-SHAN)) and surrounding region (

, 1980)

Notes

References

{{Authority control County-level divisions of Xinjiang Hotan Prefecture